Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a detachable spring loaded headphone reel for storing and protecting headphone cables.
Background of the Invention
Handheld devices such as mobile phones, video players, audio players, etc., have become an important part of daily life. Mobile phones, especially smart phones, are the most frequently used consumer electronics. Mobile phones are provided with a headset or headphone or earphone (also referred to as earbuds) as a necessary and standard accessory to the user(s). The earphones, earbuds or headphones typically include left and right earpieces attached to one end of an electrical cable, the electrical cable having a plug or jack on the other end. The headphone cable is typically unitary at the plug end, and then splits into two separate wires each leading to a respective left or right earpiece or earbud. The headphones are usually used for call conversations and listening to music or other audio content that are stored or streamed in the mobile phones. The headphone is usually carried separately from the mobile phone itself. For instance, carrying headphones in a bag or in the user's pocket is often a hassle, as the headphone or earbud wires generally become tangled or intertwined or sometimes become damaged. The demand for the headphones and earbuds has created a desire for protective cases to protect the wires of the headphones and earbuds against unintended tangling, breakage or damage.
Various types of conventional protective cases or reels to protect the headphones are known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,957 (Cummins) describes a cable take-up for earphones. The cable take-up includes a cylindrical case and a plug mechanically attached to the case and extending axially from the case. Within the case, a cable is wound onto a rotating spool biased by a spring to retract the cable. A ratchet prevents the cable from retracting. A release in the ratchet is accessible from outside of the case. The plastic has several wires embedded therein. One end of the cable is connected to earpieces and the other end of the cable is connected to the plug through a commutator. The commutator includes a first disk having resilient, conductive contacts attached to the plug and a second, rotating disk having concentric, conductive stripes attached to the cable and rubbing on the conductive contacts.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,774,446 describes a retractable storage system for a handheld electronic device. The claimed retractable storage system comprises a removable panel with one or more storage chambers for storing an accessory item, such as a wireless earbud, cabled earbud, headphone cable or e-cigarette, and a retractable mechanism to retrieve and dispense the stored accessory item through an accessory station. The removable panel can be replaced with another removable panel configured with different structure to store a different accessory item, such as a battery to charge a wireless earbud or e-cigarette.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,480,611 describes a headphone having a cord reel. In the cited document, a housing assembly comprises an electroacoustic transducer accommodated therein and an insertion hole defined therein. A winding mechanism is accommodated in the housing assembly for winding an input cord into the housing assembly. The winding mechanism includes a cord reel biased to wind the input cord there around and an engagement member pivotally mounted in the housing assembly. When an input plug secured to one end of the input cord is inserted into the insertion hole, the input plug rotates the engagement member in a first direction, which in turn allows the cord reel to wind the input cord there around. When the input plug is removed from the insertion hole, the engagement member rotates in a second direction counter to the first direction, allowing the input cord to be drawn out of the housing assembly and preventing the cord reel from winding the input cord there around.
US Patent application publication 20040125977 describes a headphone with an automatic reeling device for a jack wire. In the cited document, the automatic reeling device comprises of two earphones, a reeling device installed inside one of the two earphones and a jack wire. The reeling device has a stationary disk, a rotating disk with a wire reel rotatable abutting the stationary disk, a coil spring mounted between the stationary disk and the rotating disk and a push button to detachably engage the rotating disk to stop its movement, or to disengage from the rotating disk to permit its movement. The jack wire is wound around the wire reel on the rotating disk. By pressing the push button, the rotating disk is released, and the coil spring provides a restitution force to rotate the rotating disk and retract the jack wire into the earphone.
The referenced patent documents use a side catch design for winding or pulling the headphones of the user(s). The use of side catch design leads to tangle, misfire and creates frustration for the user(s) to reset the device when there is slip off. The use of the reels and protective cases of the prior art do not disclose the open-faced design for winding headphones disclosed herein.
Hence, there is need for a detachable spring loaded headphone reel that has an open faced design for pulling or winding the headphone cable without causing any tangle, misfire or slip off therein.